The 1980s manic merry maker returns Friday in a new Netflix movie, "Pee-wee’s Big Holiday," in a bid to prove he's man-child for our times, too.

Paul Reubens, Pee-wee’s adult alter ego, took his campy bow-tied character from the stage to the breakout 1985 movie, "Pee-wee’s Big Adventure," an episodic romp centered on the tittle character’s search for his missing vintage Schwinn bike.

The next year brought Reubens' Saturday morning TV show, "Pee-wee’s Playhouse," a child’s fantasyland through adult goggles, complete with a talking chair and clock, and human visitors with a Mr. Rogers-meets-Warhol vibe. Pee-wee’s retro look, Rube Goldberg-esque contraptions and penchant for puns played to children as well as to adults who appreciated his sardonic-yet-loving take on 1950s and 1960s kiddie shows.

Recent years have proved somewhat kinder to Reubens, whose Pee-wee stage shows drew fans in Los Angeles and New York in 2010. Now he's set to retest his appeal with a mass audience – or as close as he can get to one in the streaming age.

Reubens, whose character is rooted in nostalgia, returns via Netflix, which has revived the likes of "Arrested Development" and "Full House," with a "Gilmore Girls" encore on the way.

Yet Pee-wee Herman isn’t dated. He’s a character built for memes and gifs, thanks to his verbal and physical antics. He’s also built for escapism: We all could use a little "Tequila" these days, whether in the form of a wacky dance or a stiff drink.

Check out a couple of previews of "Pee-wee’s Big Holiday" above, as Paul Reubens (and co-star Joe Manganiello) gets back to work at age 63 to find perhaps that the biggest shoes he has to fill may be his own.